This is very disappointing. We now have some serious political compromises on finance, civil liberties, health care, and the war on terror. At some point Obama needs to make a stand that is true to his convictions.

"Once central banks get involved in lender-of-last resort operations, recapitalisor-of-last-resort operations and other rescue operations of banks and other financial institutions deemed to big, too complex, to international, too interconnected or too politically well-connected to fail, centrals banks and central bankers become normal political actors, indeed partisan political actors. They should not be surprised to be treated as such."

Edward Harrison is the founder of Credit Writedowns and a former career diplomat, investment banker and technology executive with over twenty five years of business experience. He has also been a regular economic and financial commentator in print and on television for the past decade. He speaks six languages and reads another five, skills he uses to provide a more global perspective. Edward holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University and a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College.